DESCRIPTION: Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has been proposed (Phases 1 and 2) for Dental applications in determining tooth pathologies such as demineralization, caries, fractures, abscesses, and tooth wear. The equipment adopts piezoelectric and optic hybrid transduction system for interrogation on teeth. Ultrasonic responses of the tooth structure will then be analyzed by a pattern recognition expert system (artificial intelligence) to determine the diagnosis of the tooth inspected. The proposed research will eventually help to reduce the use of harmful X-ray radiation in Dental clinic and also contribute to artificial intelligence based diagnosis. In the Phase 1 research, tooth specimens will be collected from local Dental clinics; demonstration instrumentation will be constructed; ultrasonic testing will be conducted on the tooth specimens in vitro; and finally, the test data will be analyzed to show the potential for Dental pathology identification. The feasibility of the proposed research concept will be demonstrated, if: 1) meaningful ultrasonic tests can be conducted using the simple piezo-/opto-ultrasonic system on the tooth specimens collected; 2) various Dental pathologies in the tooth specimens may be characterized by using wave pattern of the ultrasonic responses; and 3) by identifying particular features of an ultrasonic wave pattern, the actual tooth pathology may be recognized. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: NOT AVAILABLE